Army veteran and boyfriend ‘film themselves tying service dog to tree and shooting it five times’

Police arrest Marinna Rollins and Jarren Heng on animal cruelty charges and hold them on $25,000 (£19,500) bail

An army veteran and her boyfriend have been arrested on animal cruelty charges after a video of the pair emerged apparently showing them tying a service dog to a tree and shooting it five times.

Marinna Rollins, 23, was arrested on Tuesday in North Carolina. Her boyfriend, 26-year-old Jarren Heng, had already been apprehended by police, ABC11 reports.

The pair have been charged with cruelty to animals and conspiracy. Both are being held on a $25,000 (19,500) bail.

​Rollins and Heng apparently filmed themselves as they tied up a pitbull named Camboui in a wooded area in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and allegedly shot it at close range five times with a rifle. Rollins is heard laughing in the video, before the dog is buried in a shallow grave, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

Heng can allegedly be heard saying, “Let me hit him once,” while Rollins is heard talking to the dog shortly before placing the animal in the grave and covering it with a white sheet. “It’s been real… I love you, you’re my puppy, you’re a good puppy, but…” she said, according to ABC11.

During Heng’s court hearing on Tuesday, Cumberland County District Attorney Clark Reeves alleged that the pair “can be heard on the tape laughing and giggling as the dog was being killed”.

Rollins' boyfriend Jerren Heng, 26, is also facing charges (Cumberland County Sheriff's Office) (Cumberland County Sheriff's Office)

The animal is understood to have been a therapy service dog, which Rollins had owned for a year to help with her PTSD.

Police said Rollins posted a photo of the dog on Facebook stating that she was sad the animal had to “go to a happier place”. She allegedly later sent text messages admitting to shooting the therapy dog, officers added.

A Facebook page has been set up calling for justice for the dog, where moderators have posted the video claiming that it “tells Camboui’s story”.